Washington, D.C. — New York’s near encounter with Hurricane Joaquin a few weeks ago was a sobering reminder of the damage imposed by Hurricane Sandy in 2013. Three years later, tens of thousands of New York and New Jersey residents are still struggling to return home as a result of that storm.
The Center for American Progress released a report today examining the effectiveness of New York and New Jersey’s programs to rebuild houses and rehome residents after Hurricane Sandy.
“For thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Sandy three years ago, their ordeal is still not over,” said Danielle Baussan, Managing Director of Energy Policy at CAP and co-author of this report. “With extreme weather on the rise, the third anniversary of the storm is an important reminder that all cities need to prepare for a more volatile climate. It is important to assess the successes and failures of post-Sandy rebuilding programs to make recommendations for other urban areas as they prepare for extreme weather events of their own.”
As the rise in extreme weather events spurs other cities to develop climate resilience plans, the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy shows the importance of plans that include the following:
- Efforts to fortify hard and soft infrastructure
- Programs that prioritize keeping people in or returning them to their homes in order to prevent climate displacement
- Analysis, support, and integrated planning with community organizations that can assist communities before and after an extreme weather event
- Initiatives to incorporate affordable housing needs with climate resilience and anti-displacement measures
As climate resilience plans move forward, attention to climate displacement, past actions, and present policies show it takes more than hard infrastructure for a community to thrive after an extreme weather event.
Click here to read “Lessons from the Storm: Climate Displacement Three Years After Hurricane Sandy” by Danielle Baussan and Miranda Peterson.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.
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